Mike Mignola presents a Hellboy yarn combining Shakespeare and graverobbing in this follow-up to Dark Horse's Eisner-nominated books of Hauntings and Witchcraft. Also returning to this volume are Jill Thompson, who won a 2004 Eisner for her painted work in Hauntings, and her collaborator Evan Dorkin, with another occult canine adventure. New additions for this volume include Goon creator Eric Powell, celebrated B.P.R.D. artist Guy Davis, and the artist who spent the last twenty years making superhero comics more scary - Kelley Jones. Cover artist Gary Gianni also returns, mixing prose with comics, with a rare tale by the man ultimately responsible for Dark Horse's biggest hit in years - Conan creator Robert E. Howard.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nine Cautionary Tales of the Risen and Hungry Dead,
By
This review is from: The Dark Horse Book Of The Dead (Hardcover)
Anthologies are almost always a mixed bag of tricks, the alchemical products of well-intentioned editors possessed by some inspired thematic vision that compels them to collect a range of exemplary work under a single banner, ideally providing maximum bang for a reader's buck. With 94 pages of content, including an interesting 11-page prose piece from Robert E. Howard lightly seasoned with a handful of illustrations, its bang for the buck factor is pretty high.
"Nine Cautionary Tales of the Risen and Hungry Dead - Told in Words and Pictures; including famously Dead Author and Patriarch of Terrifying Adventure, Robert E. Howard." It's rare that a book's promotional blurb is worth referring to, but in this case it's appropriate thanks to its nailing of the anthology's overall tone: wry and a tad old school, perhaps the kind of thing Max Gaines would be publishing if the Comics Code Authority hadn't castrated his line of horror comics so many years ago. From the clever twist of Kelley Jones' "The Hungry Ghosts" opener, to the waterlogged horror of Jamie S. Rich and Guy Davis' "Kago No Tori," Book of the Dead delivers literate storytelling that doesn't shortchange fans of gore and hanging entrails. Pat McEown's "Queen of Darkness" is the most intriguing entry, hinting at a much larger story that begs for a more elaborate telling, possibly hinted at in the credits which explain this story "marks his return to comics as both writer and artist." David Crouse and Todd Herman offer up the disturbing "The Ditch;" Eric Powell's "The Wallace Expedition" is a creepy tale with a nice Classics Illustrated-style execution; and Book of the Dead editor Scott Allie himself teams up with Paul Lee and Brian Horton for the surprisingly melancholy "The Magicians." Allie arguably saves the best for last, though, closing out with Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson's "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie," sort of Stephen King's Pet Sematary told from the perspective of the pets themselves. Fans of Grant Morrison's overrated WE3 should check this one out to see a twist on a familiar theme done right. While there are no outright misses here, there are a couple of questionable entries that keep this worthy project from A+ status. Mike Mignola's "The Ghoul" strikes a dubious balance between pretension and confusion as the BPRD track down a ghoulish fellow who only speaks in poetry while Hellboy beats the stuffing out of him, as annoyed by the stylistic quirk as I was. Perhaps some more familiarity with Hellboy would have improved my opinion of the piece, but if so, in this context, it would still be considered a swing and a miss. The other strike is Bob Fingerman and Roger Langridge's "Death Boy," a cartoony humor piece that brings to mind the old Sesame Street "one of these things is not like the others" segments. It's not bad, per se, just completely jarring in its tone and a bad fit here. Nevertheless, the whole is far greater than the sum of its unequal parts, and it's an enjoyable collection worth every penny, suitable not just for genre fans but any fan of good writing and artwork. It's also a perfect introduction to comics for anyone that thinks they're just for kids and/or all about superheroes.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Looking for some good zombie yarns? Look no further.,
By
This review is from: The Dark Horse Book Of The Dead (Hardcover)
The Dark Horse Book of the Dead is a surprisingly varied collection of creepy tales involving revenants of all stripes. A handsome hardcover volume (with a great cover by Gary Gianni), it contains nine stories ranging from the outright fantastical to the strikingly contemporary.
As is the case with any anthology, the stories contained herein are hit or miss, although there are more hits than misses. Many of you investigating this volume will no doubt be interested in Mike Mignola's "The Ghoul," a Hellboy romp that is entertaining (though not his best work). However, Mignola's tale is not the only standout. Eric Powell's "The Wallace Expedition" imagines a Victorian excursion to the Arctic with dire consequences that is exceptional in its artwork and narrative quality; Pat McEown's "Queen of Darkness" is a dark fantasy tale that finds a young swordsman on a quest to rid his world of the hellish evil that has befallen it; Jamie S. Rich and Guy Davis' "Kago No Tori" is an atmospheric (and explicitly gruesome) ghost story taking place in feudal Japan; and Evan Dorking and Jill Thompson's "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie" explores what happens when dogs and the occult mix. All of these are worthy entries, but the real standout is "Old Garfield's Heart," a "weird" tale by Robert E. Howard with supebly rendered illustrations by Gary Gianni. This yarn - encompassing 1930s Texas society, history, and black magic - may surprise some readers in that it is a Howard story that is not explicitly fantastic, and reads more in the vein of an M. R. James or William Hope Hodgson tale. The virtuoso composition and execution of this story shows just how good Howard was and will make you want to go out and investiagte his westerns. Overall, The Dark Horse Book of the Dead is highly recommended for lovers of good old-fashioned horror with a grim and gruesome edge.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful Hardbound Collection of Chilling Tales at a Modest Price,
By logical-ends (Cascadia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Dark Horse Book Of The Dead (Hardcover)
The Dark Horse Book of the Dead is a fun and entertaining collection of short stories and comics. The stories - each beautifully illustrated - are varied in their tone and approach. Some are comical while others are stark in their bleak presentation.
Bob Fingerman's "Death Boy" is easily one of the most light hearted to be found in the collection. The story contains the comical narration of a boy who acquires the touch of death after a near-death experience and his subsequent struggle with life-after-death in the land of the living. Puns abound and allow for a much needed retreat from the more morbid stories here. The tale of "The Wallace Expedition" details the gruesome demise of a group exploring the Arctic around the start of the 20th century. Eric Powell is to be commemorated for his dark story and brilliant usage of cross-hatching inkwork with watercolors. The effect is a lively tale of a time gone past. This piece alone could sell the collection and fits in well with the other shorts despite its noticeably different presentation. Strangely, Mike Mignola's Hellboy Adventure short of "The Ghoul" is an odd match here. The somber and peculiar pace gives a unique feel but lacks any of the sharp moments of revelation or shock that make the other stories so filling. It is an entertaining yet curious read, and ultimately its inability to be a wild success is as much a fault of the excellence found elsewhere in the collection as it is any of its own doing. Although the mood between pieces can differ radically, they manage to work well together and provide an entertaining read. Unlike the previous, checkered Book of Hauntings, Dark Horse has managed to put together a collection that is thoroughly satisfying with its variety and is well worth its price.
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